Fact and Fiction

A New York City White House

I used to live in McKinney, Texas. A friend who also lived in McKinney owned a small airplane and for years he frequently flew to Austin to visit his parents.

Then George W. Bush declared his Texas ranch his Western White House. That didn’t affect very many people, but it affected my friend.

When he flew down to see his parents and then President Bush made an unannounced visit to his Texas Ranch the air space around the Waco/Austin area was closed and my friend had to catch a bus back to McKinney and return for his airplane after the president went back to Washington.

If Donald Trump decides to commute from his New York home to the White House each morning and then commute back to New York each evening, as he is considering, I wonder how that will affect air traffic around the NYC/DC area?

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2 thoughts on “A New York City White House”

The main concerning part to me is – regardless of whoever the president is should s/he create such traffic jam around whichever path s/he passes by? Obviously they r important but I really wonder can’t there be any other way that they can ensure their own security and also the smooth traffic? Would like to know if anyone has any suggestions on this.

When the president is not at the White House his route must be unobstructed with all the securities in place. And he must be able to travel at a moment’s notice.

I’ve been a civilian since 1966, so the rules have probably changed. But in 1962, I, a communications/navigation equipment maintainer, traveled to Costa Rico from California by way of Florida aboard a KC-135 tanker in support of JFK’s fighter escort – fuel (Operation Wide Path). At no time were any of his fighter escort or our refueling tankers allowed within 25 miles of Air Force One.

I was stationed in Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico when JFK was assassinated. A week or two into Johnson’s presidency President Johnson came to Ramey for a reason that was never disclosed. He’d been on the ground about an hour when something happened and his presence was required elsewhere. Air Force One was in the process of being refueled – not ready to fly – so he took one of our tankers that was at the ready for Cold War Alert.

Immediately after lift off they dumped fuel over the officer’s golf course and continued dumping out over the Atlantic.

During that period an Operation Looking Glass aircraft would have been somewhere within UHF radio communications distance of the president and able to scramble and relay all communications to and from the president when he didn’t have the facilities of Air Force One.

My point: when the president’s presence is required elsewhere there is no time to clear the way.